Former Vietnam refugee Hieu Van Le set to be installed as governor of South Australia

A long-time friend of the man about to be installed as governor of South Australia thinks his mate would have found himself locked up in Australia's offshore detention facilities if he had tried to reach the country's shores in more recent times.

It is now 37 years since Hieu Van Le and his partner Lan fled war-torn Vietnam by boat.

After a dangerous journey, they made it to the northern shores of Australia and Mr Le and his new wife were sent to Adelaide.

Over the years since, he forged a successful career as an accountant with strong community links.

I think that were Hieu on his way to Australia [now], he would be locked up in Nauru or Manus and probably brutalised.

Bill Denny, Veterans SA director

Among those who will be immensely proud to see the former refugee sworn in as SA governor next Monday will be Vietnam War veteran Bill Denny.

"One good thing to come out of the Vietnam War was Hieu Van Le and his family," the now-director of Veterans SA said.

Mr Denny is relieved his friend made it to Australian shores in an earlier era.

"I think that were Hieu on his way to Australia [now], he would be locked up in Nauru or Manus and probably brutalised," he said.

"Any capacity for him to contribute to our nation, to make us a better place for every Australian would be completely lost and that's truly sad.

"I wonder how many Hieu Van Les there are in Nauru and Manus at the moment."

Symbolism of appointment transcends the individual: Mr Le

Hieu Van Le, his wife and two sons, named Don and Kim after the cricketing greats Don Bradman and Kim Hughes, will move into Government House in Adelaide after an official ceremony on Monday.

Mr Le's office is filled with the accolades from his work as a patron of hundreds of charities and other organisations and he is humbled by the goodwill he has experienced about his latest community role.

"I don't think it's about me, I think it's about the story. It's about someone who come from a very humble background, confronted with several challenges in life, suffering from adversity, tragedies, loss and all sort of problems through life," he said.

"I think the symbolic representation of this appointment is more powerful than any individual."

He concedes his appointment to the vice-regal post is the stuff of fairytales, something he never could have dreamed of.

"I have so many close friends, classmates and relatives who were killed in that war, so it was ... quite a challenge to growing up and trying to be this tough, as resilient as possible to survive," he said.

Mr Le's two brothers were in the army when the war ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975 and both were sent to re-education camps.

'G'day': Refugee boat welcomed to Australia by tinnie

Amid chaos and as thousands of Vietnamese tried to flee the communists, Hieu Van Le, aged 22, and his sweetheart Lan decided to make the perilous trip in a small boat bound with hopes of reaching Australia.

"It was very dangerous and very risky, like many other refugees out there, I guess," he said.

He said they endured weeks of monsoonal downpours and storms and feared ending up in the bottom of the sea.

But finally the tiny boat made it to Australian waters and a remarkable welcome.

"Out of this curtain of mist we saw the little tinnie coming toward us, quite fast, and there were two blokes standing in it, shorts and singlets, sunhats on, white zinc cream on their noses, the fishing rod sticking up into the sky," he recalled.

"They waved at us and they come very close, very close and very fast to our boat and one of them raises the stubbie up as if proposing a toast.

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